Hikaru's Joy, Haruhi's Smiles, Kaoru's Hope
by Hotaru Gunso
Summary: AUTHOR'S NOTE! After the birth of his daughter, Hikaru strives to prove that it was the right decision to keep her, despite still being in high school. However, he soon learns that parenthood isn't easy, especially when Kaoru isn't around to help him.
1. Prologue

_It goes without saying that Haruhi had gone through more than her fair share of sorrow and pain throughout her life. The stress and heartache that resulted from the hardships she had suffered through seemed like too much for her to bear at times, but she had become stronger from it. Her dad had told her straight out how some things could never be changed, no matter how desperately she could try, and she came to accept that fact quicker than she had expected. Over time, she learned that she sometimes just needed to endure certain situations, no matter how emotionally strenuous they might be on her._

_However, over the past year and a half she had spent at Ouran Academy, she didn't think it was possible, but she felt confident in that she had shed even more tears within that short time frame than ever before in her entire life. She had, as always, faced each situation head on in hopes of overcoming them, but she couldn't help but break down at times when the stress was too much, even for her. _

_But regardless of all she had gone through, she was proud to know that she had succeeded and that, with any luck, her, Hikaru's, and the others' lives could finally go on in peace, especially since she had finally gotten through the worst pain yet…_

…_said pain being none other than that resulting from childbirth._

'Hmm…oh, God, why can't this soreness just go away already? Is it supposed to last this long? Dammit…and I just wish that I could at least go back to sleep. I definitely feel more than tired enough to do so…'

_Haruhi, having lain in her cot for practically the entire day so far, realized that her wishes weren't coming true any time soon. Her body absolutely refused to cooperate with her; her soreness didn't seem to be going anywhere and she couldn't find herself falling back to sleep as easily as she did just a few hours ago after she had given birth. She might not have been as tired as she was right after her baby was born (or right after the host club and her father dropped in for a surprise visit that nearly drove her to insanity), but she still felt almost as physically drained and wanted to replenish her energy as soon as possible. She did have a newborn she would need to attend to once she could get home after all._

_Getting frustrated, she sighed upon the realization that she wasn't getting anymore sleep for the time being. She couldn't help but scowl as she tossed a bit in her cot. For what she was expecting to be some cheap, easily reclining bed on wheels that was often used for women to give birth on, it was pretty cozy; overall, she couldn't complain about her labor/birthing room period. It seemed very sanitary and all the equipment used to help her was supposed to be the most efficient money could buy. In addition, the staff was incredibly kind (and not to mention non-judgmental of her being a sixteen-year-old mother) and was supportive the entire way. _

_But unfortunately, now that the actual process itself was over, none of that mattered as much anymore. All she wanted now was to have her energy back and get to go home so she could get accustomed to her new life as a mother as soon as possible, even though she realized that wishing and hoping for anything that moment was completely futile._

"_Alright, there you go. Drink up now. I'm sorry that Mommy isn't awake to breastfeed you, but I hope your old man with a bottle is a good enough substitute. I can definitely promise you that I'll get better at this though. This is my first time feeding a baby after all."_

_Haruhi's eyes had felt very heavy at that moment, but she could feel them burst wide open upon hearing the very distinct voice of a certain host, the only one she would allow in her room at any time he wanted. Somehow, she felt surprised to the core._

_She, after being around him for an entire school year and a half, had gotten used to hearing him spout out immature insults or incestuous one-liners whenever he spoke. He was often somewhat emotional and not one to think before he spoke, so hearing him speak so softly and lovingly was still a bit foreign to her. Then again, even if it was Hikaru Hitachiin of all the people in the world, it did seem only natural for a guy to speak to his own newborn daughter in such a manner when feeding her for the first time. And that was another thing entirely; it was hard enough envisioning Hikaru merely holding a baby correctly, let alone giving one a bottle and not acting immaturely about it._

_As discreetly as possible, Haruhi, now wide awake, turned around in her cot to get a good look at what was going on with Hikaru and their baby. Struggling a bit to keep her eyes open without appearing awake (since she didn't want to ruin the moment), she found herself gazing at them in awe as she watched their daddy-daughter moment unfold. _

_For sanitary reasons, he still had the hospital smock and gloves on over his clothes, which was mandatory as long as he was in the room, which had pretty much been since Haruhi was admitted when her water broke _many_ hours ago. He was sitting firmly in his chair as he held his baby comfortingly, carefully holding on to her with one arm as he used his other to hold the bottle upwards. He couldn't help but smile down at the little girl, swaddled warmly in a pink blanket with a pink headband adorning her red locks, sucked on it and looked up at him with her big chocolate eyes, but she did finish soon enough and let go of it, almost instantly falling asleep afterwards. Hikaru couldn't resist lightly laughing at her; maybe it was out of bias, but Haruhi certainly thought that she had to have been the most adorable baby she had ever seen, an opinion Hikaru was more than agreeable with._

"_That's a good girl," he said softly as he lightly pushed her red locks back with one finger, putting the bottle down on the table next to him so he could cradle her with both arms now. Not one second did his gaze avert from her as he looked down at her, still smiling more than he had in the longest time._

_While watching the moment continue, Haruhi found a small smile creep upon her face. She was more than amazed with how dedicated he was to becoming a good father, especially since it was now a reality. From the beginning, he had stressed to her that he would try as hard as he could to make this whole situation work for them, regardless of the circumstances. Obviously, neither of them intended for her to get pregnant in the first place, considering that they were only going into their second year of high school upon making the discovery; but with the situation at hand, she could clearly see how much he began going out of his way for her and their child. He automatically refused to give up the baby and wanted to prove to everyone that he could handle taking care of one. He, by some miracle, got his parents to help fund everything, including a place for him and Haruhi, a wedding for them (which she surprisingly went along with, but that's a whole other story), the nursery, a nanny, the whole package. Talk about supportive parents._

_She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little (or _very_)_ _hesitant and overwhelmed over all of this initially, especially considering how bent on adoption she was for the duration of her pregnancy. But to Hikaru's joy, as time went on and Haruhi's love for him grew more and more, the idea of becoming a family became more appealing, even though they were still very young and she wasn't sure if he'd be mature enough for all the new responsibilities coming their ways. _

_However, upon seeing and holding her little girl for the first time, she could officially declare that she had been won over. She didn't know if she would then be able to hand her over to anyone else, not taking care of her or watching her grow up. Now as she lay on her cot, watching the man she loved to death with their family's newest addition, she could easily admit that any of her previous hesitations and worries were beginning to melt away. While she knew for a fact that things weren't going to be a piece of cake all the time for them and that there would be many challenges with raising a baby at their ages, she suddenly felt a new spark of hope light up in her just from seeing how much Hikaru genuinely loved and cared for their child._

"_I still can't believe you're actually here…or how beautiful you are," Hikaru whispered to the sleeping baby as he kept cradling her. _

_Haruhi felt her heart melt as he did so, noticing a tear running down his face as he spoke, though his smile didn't falter for one minute. How badly she wanted to go up to him so she could kiss him and join in the moment, but she still wanted to keep it just between the two of them. It was important to her that he'd have moments like these so he could grow as the parent she knew he was striving to become._

"_But I promise you that while things won't be perfect, Mommy and Daddy love you more than anything else in the world, okay? And not just us, but you'll have your grandparents, your nanny, and all four of your uncles who I know will treat you like their own and spoil you to death." Hikaru sniffled a little bit as he kept stroking his daughter's cheeks, which were slightly stained from the tears she was crying not too long ago. "I'm so sorry that your Uncle Kaoru won't be around to spoil you too, but I know for sure that he'd definitely love you more than anyone else could. I know that right now, he's watching over us with your grandma, making sure we're safe."_

_Hikaru could feel himself begin to choke a little as a few more tears spilled out. It hadn't gotten too much easier to talk about Kaoru since his untimely death, but Hikaru had begun healing a lot more since and knew for a fact that Kaoru would only be the best uncle he could be. Carefully lifting the sleeping infant, he lightly kissed her on the forehead and then hugged her to his chest as much as he could without squishing her._

"_I know I've already said this to you so many times, but I can't help it. I love you and I'm gonna take care of you, sweetheart. I might be a lousy dad at times, but I'm gonna try as hard as I can, alright?"_

_With every word he spoke, additional tears fell not just from Hikaru's eye lids, but also from those of his wife, who couldn't have been more touched by his words. Even if it was only for the one moment, at that moment, she felt more confident than ever about the future the three of them would share. She wasn't wishing for it to be wonderful, she _knew_ it would be._

_As Hikaru let his little girl go, he stared down at her all teary-eyed again, but he fought against his oncoming cries as he spoke._

"_I love you so much…Kaoko Hitachiin."_

* * *

><p>(AN: Hey guys! Well, my original fic, _Hikaru's Sorrow, Haruhi's Tears, Kaoru's Wish_, is now a year old! *releases confetti from party blowers* I'm so happy that so many of you guys really loved it and took the time to tell me so! But anyway, I greatly apologize that I hadn't posted the one-shot series I mentioned. [I wasn't too happy with the one I originally posted.] But it's here! I can't really promise anything, but I'm gonna make an effort to try and write stuff for this, no matter how short since one-shots can vary greatly. Overall, this will mainly be moments in Hikaru and Haruhi's new life and will likely go in chronological order. I honestly don't have more than a few specific ideas plotted in my head, but this is definitely not going to have as strict a structure as _HS,HT,KW_ and will be a bit more lighthearted. And if you're actually reading this and you haven't read my previous fic, I think you should be able to read this without reading the other if you want to.

I hope you guys enjoyed! Please excuse me for making this one so short [which isn't like me], but it's kind of a prologue to the rest of the story to come.)


	2. Important Author's Note

**(I apologize if you were hoping this was an update! You might have seen this if you read the A/N in _HS,HT,KW, _but I didn't really get the response I hoped for and want to try and reach out to my readers as much as possible because I'd really appreciate feedback. [I also don't want any of my fics'** possible disappearances to shock or upset anyone too much! Read below for info on that.]**)**

**(You can skip this paragraph if you don't have any interest in my life or reasons for being on a hiatus, which I understand completely.) **Hi guys. I know, it's been a _long _time since you've seen me on here (with the exception of some reviews I've given to some fics). I'll be blunt before I get to my main point: I had lost a lot of interest in writing, even though I think about potential fanfiction and original fiction ideas all the time, and haven't done any real writing since my last update. On my first day of this school year (all the way back in August), I had gotten into a car crash that really took an emotional toll on me. I also had some serious social and academic stress going on for most of my first quarter of school. Basically, I've kinda been focusing more on other aspects of my life and putting fanfiction far off my radar.

I'm incredibly sorry to my readers who have been waiting for me to update any of my current fics. However, actually getting to the point of this A/N, I just wanted to put my current ideas out in the open in order to get your guys' opinion. As of right now, _Alter the Ending _is on a hiatus (and sadly has a chance of being discontinued because of my loss of interest in it). _HJ,HS,KH_ technically is on one too, but I don't plan to discontinue it (though the one chapter I do have posted of it could be considered a one-shot).

The biggest, most important thing I wanted to tell you guys was that, despite it's still growing fanbase, I'm not happy with _HS,HT,KW_, my current dissatisfaction likely stemming from the fact that it was my first serious fic that I've actually finished and because I've gotten substantially better at writing since my days working on it. Right now, I'm seriously considering doing some _heavy_ revising on it (almost rewriting it even, but with the overall same premise and maybe I'll retain some events), especially because I want to incorporate elements from both the manga and live action now.

So anyway, I want to know your guys' opinion on this drastic revision I'm considering. Obviously, if I choose to pursue this little project, I'm gonna have to take down _HS,HT,KW_ as it currently is all together since it'll technically be a different fic (though I do obviously intend for it to be tons better). I've made a poll that's now open in my profile, but I'd greatly appreciate if you guys give me your input in a review or PM. Whether it's your overall opinion if I should do this or not or an idea I could implement into my revision, any feedback would be helpful.

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this if you have!


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